STUDY ON CARBON FOOTPRINT AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES IN JIUZHAI VALLEY SCENIC AREA

As a nature reserve with extremely vulnerable ecological system, Jiuzhai Valley must strike a balance between climate change, tourism growth and environmental protection in the future development. Carbon footprint is a key tool to measure the environmental impact of human activities. The key factors of carbon emission reduction in Jiuzhai Valley Nature Reserve can be found through carbon footprint evaluation and targeted carbon emission reduction measures can be put forward. In this paper, the carbon emission inventory based on mixed life cycle is introduced to calculate the carbon emissions within the boundary of Jiuzhai Valley Nature Reserve, evaluate its carbon footprint and find out its spatial distribution pattern in order to find out the key factors and links in the improvement of the low-carbon management in Jiuzhai Valley. The study found that the commercial activities of operating companies providing services to tourists (such as transportation and catering) are a major part of carbon emissions, followed by tourist tours and the management and maintenance activities of the Authority, the residential carbon emissions which come from the village daily life and private car driving. The low carbon emission reduction in Jiuzhai Valley should focus on the optimization of land use, the control of the number of residents and tourists, and the sharing of responsibility for emission reduction.